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| Resort Sanssouci (view of the swimming pool atrium with main hotel on the hill behind) |
After breakfast I had another relaxing warp which began the same way with a salt scrub although this time she used larger salt crystals so it was more rough than relaxing but my skin certainly felt clean afterwards and then I was slathered with some aloe vera cream and wrapped up in a cocoon for 20 minutes which was the fabulously relaxing.
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| Bridge outside the Richmond Hotel |
I had about two hours before I had to be at my 2nd treatment so I took the time to read some scripts for that playwriting contest I'm a judge for in NYC. I have three more plays to read by the end of the week and then we are pretty much finished with the first round which was 26 plays read over the course of about 5 months.
At 12:00 noon I had an Indian head & neck massage which is exactly what the description says it is. I sat in a regular chair as this big Czech guy massaged my neck and head as well as doing some acupressure on my face. This was really great and I could have stayed for hours but alas it was only a 30 minute treatment and other were waiting outside for their turn.
So I met up with Elke and we were on a hike around the city by 1:10pm. It was such a gorgeous day for a hike and we started by walking down the hill past the Richmond Resort which is below ours at the base of the hill. It's a beautiful resort with a wonderful sprawling park and lovely bridge with angels. They even have an adorable brown and yellow stripped cat who clearly is well fed and taken care of because he's huge.
In the park there is a rock garden and some beautiful walking paths by the river and also a bronze statue and monument Ludwig van Beethoven statue was erected here because the
famous composer visited here several times for spa treatments and even did a
benefit concert for an less well known composer friend at the Pupp Hotel. The
sculptor is Hugo Uher (1909-1945), and this statue was unveiled on September
29th 1929. Hugo Uher was born on April 1st, 1882 in Karlovy Vary so he was a
very good choice for this project and interestingly the first big contract of
the young sculptor was the tombstone of the famous hotelier Karel Pupp at the
cemetery of Carlsbad in 1906. Although Hugo Uher did not follow politics during
his life and lived only for his art and his family, the end of his life was
rather tragic. The sculptor, in 1923, married
Angel Eberhard, the daughter of an old Carlsbad family, the cousin of the
infamous Carlsbad booksellers Karel Hermann Frank. After looking the bookseller
up online it turns out he had cooperated extensively with the Nazis during the war and
was executed for war crimes and it seems the sculpture, Hugo, and maybe other
people from his wife’s family were imprisoned for their association with her
cousin. Hugo Uher died in December 1945 while in prison. After his death he
received the Josef Hofmann award. The
Beethoven monument in Karlovo Vary was built at the site were originally the
monument of Czar Frantisek Josef I (the erection of this statue took place on
28-08-1911 and was torn down in 1925). I tried looking up why the Czar’s statue
was torn down in 1925 but couldn’t find any reference to it except for this
entry above.
Also there are two bronze reliefs on either side of the
monument steps of lifesize female nudes showing the beneficial effects of music
on love and consolation while removing grief each with a German inscription. I
asked Elke to please translate the words for the one you can see in this
picture and it’s something to do with “music is supposed to light a fire in the
man’s soul.”
So after that we walked and walked and walked up several of
the large hills and by the river, past small waterfalls and creeks and on lots
of leaf covered paths.
We passed the Ave Maria monument and small rest gazebo, up
to the pretty pink Charles VI lookout tower at the top of the first hill we
climbed. It’s named after Czech king and holy Roman emperor Charles IV who
lived in the 14th century because the Legend has it that Karlovy Vary was
founded by him. It is said that the ruler discovered a unique spring here while
out hunting deer. Over the centuries a spa town has developed here whose fame
has surpassed the borders of Bohemia, with Karlovy Vary becoming a synonym for
charm and social standing. It has welcomed such figures as Goethe, Beethoven,
Gogol, Paganini, Casanova, and Mozart, along with dozens of heads of state,
while in recent times it has hosted many movie stars thanks to its film
festival, which is one of Europe’s most important.
I like the following picture of me looking down at one of
the ravines while the sun shone brightly above and through the leafless trees.
The picture right after the one of me is of what I was looking at when the
picture of me was taken. The walks and very well marked and there were lots of
feet prints in front of ours in the snow so many people had been there earlier
in the day. An elderly women was hiking in front of us so when I started to
feel like I was just too tired to want to climb up an further I just had to think
about her and remind myself if she can do it so can I.
We came to a tiny little chapel with a Maltese cross inside
the metal gate and across from a beautiful brown and white large gazebo which fortunately
had a map of all the walking trails so we could figure out where we were
headed.
Our walk continued up to the Diana lookout tower was built
in 1914 at the very top of Friendship Hill which is behind and above the
Grandhotel Pupp. You can reach the tower by walking along forest trails or by
the funicular, which runs at intervals of 15 minutes. The funicular ride to the
lookout tower takes about 3 minutes, but by walking it will take around half an
hour. We were already up at the Charles VI lookout so it only took us about 15
minutes to walk across to the Diana. The
observation deck on the top of the Diana tower is 25 meters high and can be
reached either by an elevator, or you can stretch your legs on its 150 steps.
If the weather is beautiful, you can reportedly see a distance of up to 70 km.
I’m not sure how many km out we saw but it was a beautiful day to be up there.
As we approached the base of the Diana lookout we stopped to
take pictures and there was a very nice German family, the Peitzschs so I
offered to take a picture of them and it turned out to be hysterical. The
younger of the two brothers, probably around 40 years old had only Puma
sneakers on and was slipping and sliding around so it took a few tries to get a
picture. Besides the two brothers there
was a teenage girl names Sarah, the taller of the brother’s daughter and the
mother/grandmother of them all. We chatted as we all very slowly made our way
up the hill while Elke was had quickly ascended the hill and stood waiting for
us. The taller brother had been in Florida many years ago and was very excited
to talk about it and when we reached where Elke was standing the younger
brother said he wanted to take a picture of us all so we all came together as
you can see in the picture. While we rested on one curve up the hill the
younger brother who took the picture so you don’t see him, his niece Sarah and
the grandmother we standing with me while the older brother chatted with Elke a
little ways away. I of course being the nosey one was asking who was who which
is how I know they were brothers etc. And he said this was his niece and when I
asked about her mom the uncle, whose name I learned just a little bit later is
Conny, said that his brother and sister-in-law are separated and the mother is
in Germany right now. I of course said I was sorry to Sarah and she just smiled
and Conny said no worries it’s been a long time. So I just continued asking questions
since it seemed I hadn’t put my foot too far in my mouth. I asked Conny if he
had kids as well and he said no and his mother, who is just so, so sweet laughed
a little and said in German, since she doesn’t speak English, that he doesn’t
have kids he’s not married. And yes, I totally understood what she said so we
all laughed including Sarah.
We stared walking again toward the lookout tower and
chatting and when we arrived I was looking at the large map to see how we would
get back down to town and Conny and Sarah came up to me and Conny asked for his
niece if it would be okay for her to connect with me on Facebook. I responded “of
course” right away and gave them my business card. And I then introduced myself
and Elke and then we all had to part ways as they seemed to be taking a
different route back down the hill. They had rented an apartment for the week
and I think the route Elke and I had to take down was more slippery so probably
better they took the safe route. But it was so nice to meet them and the two
brothers are so adorable even if in the picture the older one wasn’t smiling he
was very, very friendly otherwise and his daughter is just lovely and sweet.
After we parted I was telling Elke how adorable the two
brothers were, especially the older one who is handsome, the picture here doesn't really show it because he's so serious in it. Anyway she agreed and said she thought Conny, the younger one was really cute with his long
hair and outdoors nature (despite the in appropriate shoe choice.) I told her
she should have said something they are both German and he’s single so that
would be perfect. But she said that there would be one major problem. I couldn't really see one he is really cute and very sweet and friendly and clearly comes
from a nice family but she pointed out that they come from Eastern Germany and
that their dialect is known to be the worst and most unbearable to listen to
for other Germans. So I guess if he never spoke they would be a perfect match.
Well Sarah did connect via Facebook and I looked to see if her brother was one
of her friends but he’s not at the moment but maybe in the future he will be
and Elke can reach out to him. I mean really they’re both German, how perfect
is that and their about the same age, it’s practically fate!!! Really what a great story to tell people how you met "on a snowy hill top in February in the charming Czech town of Karlovy Vary" and I guess they would have to add "when my nosy, loud American friend offered to take their picture and in the end found out their life's history."
And then just as we headed down the hill a group of Nordic walkers
were coming up. You can see them in their bright clothes in this picture. Nordic
walking is fitness walking with specially designed poles. While trekkers,
backpackers and skiers had been using the basic concept for decades, it was
first formally defined with the publication of "Sauvakävely" by Marko
Kantaneva from Finland in 1997. Nordic Walking's concept was developed on the
basis of off-season ski-training activity.
Well this one Russian man who got up the hill pretty quickly and saw us and
the camera in my hand and I guess presumed we wanted a picture. He grabbed
the camera from me faster than I would have imagined and started shouting orders in Russian at me and Elke to
pose near the fence so he could take a picture. Again, I don't speak Russian but somehow we knew exactly what he wanted us to do. So we did as he said because there was
just no stopping the man. But the best part is the picture came out so great
because besides ordering us as to where to stand he looked at Elke who must not
have been smiling and he made this grand gesture with his hands across his face
and smiled big which made us both laugh and then he snapped the picture. It’s
clearly much more impromptu and therefore a much better picture. He just kept
talking in Russian like everyone we meet, it’s really hysterical. And it turns
out the Nordic walking group was from our hotel and we bumped into this man
and his friend who was also out there today in the pool when we got back. He
again started shouting in Russian across the pool.
So we got back into town near the Karl Marx statue not far
from the Russian Orthodox church we saw yesterday. And then we just walked the
same path into the center of town and past all the great shops and beautiful
buildings. The town from the hill top looked like someone took out a box of
pastel colored crayons and colored in all the house fronts with a different
colored crayon until the whole town looked like a yummy sorbet rainbow.
As we passed the Elephant café on the main street we just
happened to look in and see the Peitzschs family enjoying some coffee and
desserts. They clearly picked the faster route.
We stopped off at the Grand Hotel Pupp to see about their café
because tomorrow night, our last night at the resort doesn’t include dinner.
The Pupp has a fabulous buffet dinner that’s inexpensive and in a beautiful dining
room off the main lobby so we are looking forward to trying it tomorrow.
We made our way up another steep hill on the other side of the
city where our hotel is located and about a half our later we were happily in
our hotel lobby and quickly changed into bathing suits and were down at the
pool by 5:30pm for some water, steam and sauna time. After 4 straight hours of
walking up and down hills we really needed the rest and nothing better than
some time in a warm whirlpool to relax the muscles.
Our last dinner here was great and now I’m in the lobby
writing my blog and listening to a man and women perform live music in the
lobby bar area. Elke made me laugh because I went to the lobby right after dinner while she went to get her computer and when she came down she said something like "what will someone want from you tonight" referencing the event of last night when the man came up to me in the lobby needing me to email his friend Oleg pictures of some jewelry. And I had to tell her it already had happened because I first stopped off in bathroom outside the dining room and when I exited I came out to the very nice German sisters I had met in the elevator the other day and have seen several times now and have had very brief conversations with. Well they needed me to take their picture together in front of the elaborate glass hanging sculpture of the sun and corresponding plants around it all hanging over the large staircase. So of course I was happy to but so funny that Elke brought up someone needing me to do something for them.It’s been such a nice visit and we still have all day tomorrow to enjoy the resort and dinner at the Pupp to look forward to before Elke heads back to Copenhagen and I switch to my hotel in town.
An added note: As I finished adding pictures to my completed blog entry above the two sisters I had taken the picture of for them came out of the bar and over to me to chat but they only speak German and Russian. Actually it turns out they are not German by birth they are from Siberia where they were born and only moved to Germany, Munich to be exact, when the older sister, Olga, was 40 years old. Again, how one can actually understand a persons life story when neither one of us speaks a common language is beyond me but we both did. When Olga moved to Munich she came with her mom, two children (a son and daughter 32 & 24 years old now) and her younger sister, Svetlana who is here with her now.And as we chatted out came the Russian man who barked orders at us near the Diana lookout and took our picture. It turns out his name is Alexander or maybe Alessandro and his friend who was also on the hike and also in the pool earlier is named something more Italian than Russian like Cavelle. I also met him in the steam room which got a little crowded with him, my self and two other women, one named Lena who was translating the man's chatter about a friend of his who lives in Washington State in the US.
